An Army 25th Combat Aviation Brigade helicopter carrying nine Schofield Barracks soldiers and a crew of four made an emergency landing at Koko Head Elementary School this morning.

The forced landing occurred just before 8:30 this morning. No one was in injured. The helicopter lifted off about 10:40 a.m. to return to Wheeler Army Airfield.

B.J. Weiner, Fort Shafter spokeswoman, said a “microchip malfunctioned,” triggering a warning indicator light on the helicopter’s instrument panel.

“Army regulations require the pilot to land the helicopter at the first available place,” Weiner said. “In this case it was the school’s baseball field.”

The Black Hawk was ferrying soldiers to the Big Island’s Pohakuloa Training Area when it was forced to land. “The pilots landed the helicopter safely in an area well clear of any school buildings or personnel, and repair crews were dispatched immediately to check the helicopter,” an Army news release said.

Army Lt. Col. John Miller, whose wife Donna teaches at Koko Head Elementary School, said he saw the low-flying UH-60 Black Hawk “hovering and flying very low” while he was completing his morning kayaking exercise.

His son, Michael, who attends the fifth grade, sent him a photo of the downed helicopter on his cell phone and Miller drove to the school to check on his family and the helicopter’s crew.

Miller, who is assigned to the surgeon’s office at Fort Shafter, said he talked with the pilot who told him he had to make “a controlled landing” after noticing a warning light on his instrument panel.

Michael Miller said: “I was walking to my class and saw the helicopter flying and thought it was very low.”

After it landed Michael said he and his teacher went to the helicopter to find out what had happened.

“It was a very exciting way to start school,” said Michael Miller.

Soldiers on the helicopter let students at  the elementary school inspect the helicopter before it  was flown back to Wheeler.